1 online resource (xvi, 355 pages)

Ellen Reese considers the politics of welfare in the U.S. from the 1940s to the present, offering a historical perspective on the current debates over 'welfare mothers' & showing how racism has played a large part in the formulation of popular conceptions regarding welfare

Includes bibliographical references and index

Dreams deferred, broken families, and hardship : the impacts of welfare reform -- Attacking welfare, promoting work and marriage : continuity and change in welfare opposition -- The first welfare backlash (1945/1979) -- The 1950s welfare backlash and federal complicity -- Explaining the postwar rise of welfare opposition -- The Southern welfare backlash : Georgia and Kentucky -- The Northern and Western welfare backlashes : California and New York -- Setting the stage : the failures of liberal innovation -- The contemporary welfare backlash (1980/2004) -- The rise of the Republican right and new Democrats -- Business interests, conservative think tanks, and the assault on welfare -- The contemporary welfare backlash, 1980/2004 -- Rebuilding the welfare state : forging a new deal for working families

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